St. Louis Post-Dispatch to Mercedes-Benz: Missouri won't ask for papers

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Less than a week after a Mercedes-Benz executive was arrested for not carrying his papers while driving in Tuscaloosa, the editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote an open letter to the company, saying it's "time to move to a more welcoming state."

"How inhospitable," the editorial board wrote in a piece published today. "Carpetbaggers never have been treated very kindly in the South, though we would have thought exceptions would have been made for those with SUV factories in their carpetbags."

The newspaper then listed a number of reasons how Missouri ("the Show-Me State, not the 'Show me your papers' state") would be better fit for the German automaker, which by 2014 will have invested $4 billion in Alabama.

Another reason given by the Post-Dispatch: Last year, Missouri legislators passed the Manufacturing Jobs Act, which could give millions of dollars in tax incentives for automobile plant expansions. In the past year, General Motors and Ford have both expanded their operations in Missouri, the editorial board points out.

Some business leaders in Alabama are worried the state's tough immigration law is already making companies think twice about moving to the Heart of Dixie.